Over the last few years these words have also come up more often in my own prayers, not for myself but for so many who are experiencing such suffering.  I must admit that I have not suffered; I have lived a privileged life.  I know that even if I don’t always remember it.  Turning on the news or clicking on a news website quickly reminds me.

Since October, the people of Gaza have not ever been far from my thoughts.  The portion of land called the Gaza Strip is about 41 km long and from 6 to 12 km wide.  I checked on Google maps and discovered that the distance from north to south of Gaza is approximately the same distance as the drive from our home in Warman to the Mennonite Nursing Home near Rosthern.

I have driven that road a number of times and there are generally not many people along the way.  In Gaza, at least prior to the recent destruction, there were almost 2 ½ million people.  Imagine twice the population of Saskatchewan all living along the highway between Warman and Rosthern.  Now imagine that area being bombed with no place for the people to go.

             How long, O Lord?

On March 23 & 24, the MC Sask Ministries Commission along with the Living Skies Region of the United Church are holding a Gaza Peace Pilgrimage in Saskatoon (part of the https://www.gazaceasefirepilgrimage.com/).  This is not a rally, but a spiritual walk of contemplation and prayer. At the beginning, mid-point, and end of each day, we will pause for guided prayer, reflection, and lament.
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When we cry out (and even complain) to God, we need to be ready to hear from God.  We also need to speak up to others, in particular the powers of this world.  This pilgrimage is one of the things that comes out of our crying out and it is a way of saying that God’s people stand for the justice of all people.  At times like this we cannot be silent.

For more information on the Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage - Saskatoon, see this link: https://mcsask.ca/gazapeacepilgrimage.  This event is open to anyone who would like to join for all or park of the walk.  You are also welcome to come for the times of prayer, no walking necessary.

February is the shortest month of the year … or so our calendars tell us.  Sometimes our bodies and spirits try to tell us a different story.  The lack of daylight hours in winter along with the cold temperatures sometimes convince us that February is the longest month.

I just saw a graphic that says we have just “survived” the 10 darkest weeks of the year.  The period from November 16 to January 22 represents 5 weeks on either side of the winter solstice and in the northern hemisphere and that makes it the time with the least daylight hours.

For me the first half of this period feels lighter with the various Christmas lights up in the cities but after Christmas those lights seem to quickly go out and leave January in the dark. A few years ago, while living in southern Ontario, we went through a stretch in January without out any days of sunshine.  When the clouds finally cleared and we felt the sunshine, it put all of us in a better mood.  Sunshine and light can do that!

I am often struck by the beauty of the sunrise.  There is a moment before the sun shows itself above the horizon, when the sky lightens and various colours can be seen.  To call this a sunrise is not quite accurate.  As I stand waiting to see the sun, it is actually the earth’s rotation that moves me into the path of the sun’s rays.  It is as if the earth and sun are collaborating to grant me this joyful experience we call sunrise.

I have made it a practice to go out and find places to experience the sunrise, to stand still and allow the earth’s movement to place me in a position to receive the light of the sun.  I find this particularly healing in winter, even on mornings when the temperature drops below -30º C.  My first glimpse of the sun burst above the horizon can warm my spirit if not my fingers.

On these chilly mornings I also take my camera and even though the images never completely capture the joy of sunrise, I do enjoy receiving these images and sharing them with others.  This year I decided to end 2023 watching and photographing my last glimpse of the sun for the year and followed it with my first view of the sun in the new year.  I share some of those photos here as a benediction for the year that was and a blessing for 2024 and all that lies ahead.

Often plays begin with a list of characters including the name and a short description.  What would the list of characters look like for the Christmas pageant or the nativity scenes that we display at Christmas?

I enjoy having nativity scenes set up and it was during my time working with Ten Thousand Villages that I began collecting them.  I enjoy the variety of expressions displayed and some of my favourites are the ones that have taken the Christmas story and depicted it in a way that is particularly relevant for their own setting.

One of these special sets I purchased when I was in Cameroon in 2003 and it was interesting to see the way they displayed all the clay pieces.  The manger with the baby was in the centre with all the other pieces surrounding them in adoration.  The scene was not set up like a stage but as an act of worship.

In so many cases the nativity characters depict the act of God becoming present in real settings within cultures and among people.  As I look at these varied scenes I am reminded that God comes to us, not as some ancient story that is told once a year but as one who wants to participate with us in our lives, in our every day.

As I began writing this blog I had in mind a positive reflection on God’s presence as depicted through these various nativity scenes.  However, my mind cannot separate the depictions of Jesus’ birth with the scenes of destruction and pain that fill the news today.  These images come together as I look at the olive wood carvings made by artisans from the Bethlehem area.  The carvings are beautiful and polished yet the area where these artisans live is a war zone filled with rubble and destruction.  Is God still present there?  Can God be present amongst the devastation?  Can the people of Gaza declare, “God with us”?  That is a question that I am not in a position to answer.  My own words feel empty in the face of what is happening.  Yet I pray…

My prayer is that while we celebrate and repeat the words “God with us” from the safety of our comfortable homes, that we also remember those who do not experience that privilege, those in places where it may be hard to feel God’s presence, those who cry “How long, O Lord.”

“Wait for it…” someone says expectantly, as they stand there with a silly smirk, just waiting to deliver the punchline.  They ask us to wait that extra few seconds to increase their enjoyment as they anticipate our reaction.  Our society seems to enjoy asking us to wait while at the same time, not really wanting to wait at all.

Christmas also seems to be about waiting … or more precisely, Advent seems to be about waiting.  I must admit that Advent has always seemed a bit of a paradox.  On one hand we set up this intentional time of waiting but yet we know precisely how long we must wait and what we are waiting for.  As a child I never needed an Advent calendar to tell me how many days until Christmas, although I did enjoy the chocolate that was “hidden” behind each door.  I also didn’t need the lighting of candles to increase my anticipation of Christmas morning.

As an adult I have come to appreciate this intentional time of waiting but I am still sometimes left asking the question, “what am I waiting for?”  How do I wait for an event that happened 2,000 years ago?  How do I not allow my waiting to be dictated by the marketing strategies that all point to this shopping season that coincidentally comes to a climax on the day we set aside for the birth of Jesus?

​Is all this waiting important or even helpful or is it just to help build the excitement for another Christmas holiday?  In other words, what are we waiting for?

Waiting does not mean that we simply “sit and wait.”  Actually, the question of how we wait depends on what we are waiting for.  If we are waiting for paint to dry (as they say), maybe it does mean we just sit and wait or maybe we start cleaning up the brushes, closing the paint cans, and wiping up the paint that somehow missed the drop cloth.

If we are waiting for the gift exchange of Christmas morning, I suppose we go out and buy some gifts or make something to give to someone.  If, like at Advent, we are waiting for the Messiah, waiting for God to make an appearance, to comfort the suffering, feed the hungry, and heal the sick, how should we wait?  I think the first step is imagining a world where those things happen.  We need to allow our imaginations to show us what a world that embodies God’s kingdom looks like.

Maybe that is what the voice was crying out in Isaiah’s prophecy.  By catching a vision of what God’s kingdom looks like, we begin clearing the way and making level the highway.  We can then work on levelling the ground, that is, changing the systems that keep the oppressed, the hungry, and the vulnerable in that state.  Raising the valleys and flattening the mountains means that all of us are treated with fairness and love.

​This is what it means to wait in Advent.  After all, we are not actually waiting for December 25th, we are waiting for the coming of God’s kingdom into our world and into our lives so that, as Isaiah says, “The Lord’s glory will appear, and ALL humanity will see it together.”

    I think that one of the keys of lifelong learning is humility.  That is, not thinking we have everything figured out or know all that we need to know.  Humility means accepting that someone else may know something which we do not.  Humility also says, “I do not have perfect understanding,” and even “I might be wrong.”
    When we are able to say these things, we are in a position to listen and learn.  And listening and learning go together.  When we speak we only hear what we already know but when we listen we have the potential to learn.

    The beginning of September generally means the start of another school year and we see the children starting a new chapter in their learning.  This can also be a time when each of us commits to learning something new and growing.  You never know, something unexpected and exciting may happen

  It is easy to be caught up in worry about the passing of time but in the end that just diminishes the quality of that time without adding a single hour or even minute to it.  Many years ago I heard a song by James Taylor that included the line, “The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.”  At the time I was at a stage of life when I was continually looking forward to “tomorrow.”  The song was a sort of epiphany that has stuck with me ever since.
  More recently I have also come to understand God inviting us to be present in time with God.  Rest in the time we have and rest in God’s presence.  I believe that opening ourselves to the presence of God is the way to experience and enjoy the fullness and beauty of time.
  Being present with God also means being fully present with those around us — the people and our environment.  For me being present in nature, noticing the trees and plants, birds and animals, and even insects, helps me recognize God’s presence and abide in that time.  Maybe that really is the “secret of life.

In this story God makes several promises to Abram and Sarai including one that they will be a blessing to all peoples of the earth.  What is the blessing that comes from Abram and Sarai?  Part of that blessing comes through the hearing of their story.  Their story has shaped and blessed the faith of Jews, Christians, and Muslims.  Each of these religions look back to this once barren couple and count themselves as ancestors.  As we receive a blessing from the story of Abram and Sarai, we also experience God’s promise fulfilled.
Have you received a blessing through their story?

God also uses our stories to bless others as we share those stories.  This fall I want to give you an opportunity to tell your stories during our Sunday services.  What has brought you to this point?  What have been the important markers along the way?  How have the stories of others shaped your own story?  As we share our stories we may just provide a blessing to someone else and thereby fulfill the promise of God.

Yesterday I was out working in our yard, cleaning up the garden boxes and preparing for the growth that is already on its way.  Last fall I planted a number of bulbs and now I am enjoying the emergence of the crocuses and the beginnings of the tulips.  Spring is a time of hope and for me that is brought to life through the renewal of the various plants and trees that I see around me.

  When we lived in Ontario we had a small orchard.  The trees were old and didn’t produce much good fruit but early every spring I would walk among the trees, checking to see if the buds were starting to grow.  I knew there was life in the trees and I would get excited when it began to manifest itself, first in the tiny buds and then it would fill the trees with blossoms.  Even though I knew we wouldn’t have much in the way of apples or pears, the blossoms filled me with joy and hope.

  I know that there is a scientific explanation for the blossoms on fruit trees and it has to do with attracting bees who aid in the pollination.  But I also think it is a gift from God and an expression of God’s joy in which we get to share.
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  This is also like the wild flowers that Jesus mentioned in his sermon on the mount.  They grow out of the ground without anyone planting or tending them.  They bloom for a while and then fade and we might wonder what the point is.  I’m sure that there are millions of beautiful flowers that no human eye ever sees.  Yet God cannot help creating this beauty.  The abundance of beauty for the sake of beauty is part of the very nature of God.

The psalmist reminds us of the beauty of God and how creation itself testifies to God.  So spring, for me, is a sign of the presence of God in our world, a world created by God and loved by God.  God has invited us to see God’s re-creation and God invites us to participate in re-creation.  That gives me hope.